System and method for improving combined inter and intra prediction

ABSTRACT

The present disclosure relates to a method for video coding. The method includes obtaining a reference picture in a reference picture list associated with a current coding block; generating an inter prediction based on a motion vector from a current picture to the reference picture; obtaining an intra prediction mode associated with the current coding block; generating an intra prediction of the current coding block based on the intra prediction mode; generating a final prediction of the current coding block by weighted averaging the inter prediction and the intra prediction; and determining whether the current coding block is treated as inter mode or intra mode for most probable mode (MPM) based intra mode prediction.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of International Application No.:PCT/US2020/012826, filed on Jan. 9, 2020, which is based upon and claimspriority to Provisional Application No. 62/790,421 filed on Jan. 9,2019, the entire contents thereof are incorporated herein by referencefor all purposes.

TECHNICAL FIELD

This application is related to video coding and compression. Morespecifically, this application relates to methods and apparatus oncombined inter and intra prediction (CIIP) method for video coding.

BACKGROUND

Various video coding techniques may be used to compress video data.Video coding is performed according to one or more video codingstandards. For example, video coding standards include versatile videocoding (VVC), joint exploration test model (JEM), high-efficiency videocoding (H.265/HEVC), advanced video coding (H.264/AVC), moving pictureexperts group (MPEG) coding, or the like. Video coding generallyutilizes prediction methods (e.g., inter-prediction, intra-prediction,or the like) that take advantage of redundancy present in video imagesor sequences. An important goal of video coding techniques is tocompress video data into a form that uses a lower bit rate, whileavoiding or minimizing degradations to video quality.

SUMMARY

Examples of the present disclosure provide methods for improving theefficiency of the syntax signaling of merge related modes.

According to a first aspect of the present disclosure, a method of videocoding, the method comprising: obtaining a first reference picture and asecond reference picture associated with a current prediction block,wherein the first reference picture is before a current picture and thesecond reference picture is after the current picture in display order,obtaining a first prediction L0 based on a first motion vector MV0 fromthe current prediction block to a reference block in the first referencepicture, obtaining a second prediction L1 based on a second motionvector MV1 from the current prediction block to a reference block in thesecond reference picture, determining whether a bidirectional opticalflow (BDOF) operation is applied, wherein the BDOF calculates a firsthorizontal and vertical gradient values

$\frac{\partial I^{(0)}}{\partial x}{\left( {i,j} \right)'}s\mspace{14mu}{and}\mspace{14mu}\frac{\partial I^{(0)}}{\partial y}{\left( {i,j} \right)'}s$

for the prediction samples associated with the first prediction L0 andsecond horizontal and vertical gradient values

$\frac{\partial I^{(1)}}{\partial x}{\left( {i,j} \right)'}s\mspace{14mu}{and}\mspace{14mu}\frac{\partial I^{(1)}}{\partial y}{\left( {i,j} \right)'}s$

associated with the second prediction L1, and calculating abi-prediction of the current prediction block based on the firstprediction L0 and the second prediction L1, and first gradient values

$\frac{\partial I^{(0)}}{\partial x}{\left( {i,j} \right)'}s\mspace{14mu}{and}\mspace{14mu}\frac{\partial I^{(0)}}{\partial y}{\left( {i,j} \right)'}s$

and second gradient values

$\frac{\partial I^{(1)}}{\partial x}{\left( {i,j} \right)'}s\mspace{14mu}{and}\mspace{14mu}\frac{\partial I^{(1)}}{\partial y}{\left( {i,j} \right)'}{s.}$

According to a second aspect of the present disclosure, A method ofvideo coding, the method comprising: obtaining a reference picture in areference picture list associated with a current prediction block,generating a inter prediction based on a first motion vector from acurrent picture to a first reference picture, obtaining a intraprediction mode associated with the current prediction block, generatinga intra prediction of the current prediction block based on the intraprediction, generating a final prediction of the current predictionblock by averaging the inter prediction and the intra prediction,determining whether the current prediction block is treated as intermode or intra mode for most probable mode (MPM) based intra modeprediction.

According to a third aspect of the present disclosure, a non-transitorycomputer-readable storage medium having stored therein instructions isprovided. When executed by the one or more processors, cause thecomputing device to perform operations including obtaining a firstreference picture and a second reference picture associated with acurrent prediction block, wherein the first reference picture is beforea current picture and the second reference picture is after the currentpicture in display order, obtaining a first prediction L0 based on afirst motion vector MV0 from the current prediction block to a referenceblock in the first reference picture, obtaining a second prediction L1based on a second motion vector MV1 from the current prediction block toa reference block in the second reference picture, determining whether abidirectional optical flow (BDOF) operation is applied, wherein the BDOFcalculates a first horizontal and vertical gradient values

$\frac{\partial I^{(0)}}{\partial x}{\left( {i,j} \right)'}s\mspace{14mu}{and}\mspace{14mu}\frac{\partial I^{(0)}}{\partial y}{\left( {i,j} \right)'}s$

for the prediction samples associated with the first prediction L0 andsecond horizontal and vertical gradient values

$\frac{\partial I^{(1)}}{\partial x}{\left( {i,j} \right)'}s\mspace{14mu}{and}\mspace{14mu}\frac{\partial I^{(1)}}{\partial y}{\left( {i,j} \right)'}s$

associated with the second prediction L1, and calculating abi-prediction of the current prediction block.

According to a fourth aspect of the present disclosure, a non-transitorycomputer-readable storage medium having stored therein instructions isprovided. When executed by the one or more processors, cause thecomputing device to perform operations including obtaining a referencepicture in a reference picture list associated with a current predictionblock, generating a inter prediction based on a first motion vector froma current picture to a first reference picture, obtaining a intraprediction mode associated with the current prediction block, generatinga intra prediction of the current prediction block based on the intraprediction, generating a final prediction of the current predictionblock by averaging the inter prediction and the intra prediction, anddetermining whether the current prediction block is treated as intermode or intra mode for most probable mode (MPM) based intra modeprediction.

It is to be understood that both the foregoing general description andthe following detailed description are examples only and are notrestrictive of the present disclosure.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute apart of this specification, illustrate examples consistent with thepresent disclosure and, together with the description, serve to explainthe principles of the disclosure.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an encoder, according to an example of thepresent disclosure.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a decoder, according to an example of thepresent disclosure.

FIG. 3 is a flow chart illustrating a method for generating combinedinter and intra prediction (CIIP), according to an example of thepresent disclosure.

FIG. 4 is a flow chart illustrating a method for generating CIIP,according to an example of the present disclosure.

FIG. 5A is a diagram illustrating block partitions in a multi-type treestructure, according to an example of the present disclosure.

FIG. 5B is a diagram illustrating block partitions in a multi-type treestructure, according to an example of the present disclosure.

FIG. 5C is a diagram illustrating block partitions in a multi-type treestructure, according to an example of the present disclosure.

FIG. 5D is a diagram illustrating block partitions in a multi-type treestructure, according to an example of the present disclosure.

FIG. 5E is a diagram illustrating block partitions in a multi-type treestructure, according to an example of the present disclosure.

FIG. 6A is a diagram illustrating a combined inter and intra prediction(CIIP), according to an example of the present disclosure.

FIG. 6B is a diagram illustrating a combined inter and intra prediction(CIIP), according to an example of the present disclosure.

FIG. 6C is a diagram illustrating a combined inter and intra prediction(CIIP), according to an example of the present disclosure.

FIG. 7A is a flowchart of the MPM candidate list generation processes,according to an example of the present disclosure.

FIG. 7B is a flowchart of the MPM candidate list generation processes,according to an example of the present disclosure.

FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating a workflow of the existing CIIP designin the VVC, according to an example of the present disclosure.

FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating a workflow of the proposed CIIP methodby removing BDOF, according to an example of the present disclosure.

FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating a workflow of the uni-prediction basedCIIP with selecting prediction list based on POC distance, according toan example of the present disclosure.

FIG. 11A is a flowchart of the methods when enabling CIIP blocks for theMPM candidate list generation, according to an example of the presentdisclosure.

FIG. 11B is a flowchart of the methods when disabling CIIP blocks forthe MPM candidate list generation, according to an example of thepresent disclosure.

FIG. 12 is a diagram illustrating a computing environment coupled with auser interface, according to an example of the present disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Reference will now be made in detail to examples of the presentdisclosure, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanyingdrawings. The following description refers to the accompanying drawingsin which the same numbers in different drawings represent the same orsimilar elements unless otherwise represented. The implementations setforth in the following description of examples of the present disclosuredo not represent all implementations consistent with the disclosure.Instead, they are merely examples of apparatuses and methods consistentwith aspects related to the disclosure as recited in the appendedclaims.

The terminology used in the present disclosure is for the purpose ofdescribing particular embodiments only and is not intended to limit thepresent disclosure. As used in the present disclosure and the appendedclaims, the singular forms “a,” “an,” and “the” are intended to includethe plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicatesotherwise. It shall also be understood that the term “and/or” usedherein is intended to signify and include any or all possiblecombinations of one or more of the associated listed items.

It shall be understood that, although the terms “first,” “second,”“third,” etc. may be used herein to describe various information, theinformation should not be limited by these terms. These terms are onlyused to distinguish one category of information from another. Forexample, without departing from the scope of the present disclosure,first information may be termed as second information; and similarly,second information may also be termed as first information. As usedherein, the term “if” may be understood to mean “when” or “upon” or “inresponse to a judgment” depending on the context.

The first version of the HEVC standard was finalized in October 2013,which offers approximately 50% bit-rate saving or equivalent perceptualquality compared to the prior generation video coding standardH.264/MPEG AVC. Although the HEVC standard provides significant codingimprovements than its predecessor, there is evidence that superiorcoding efficiency can be achieved with additional coding tools overHEVC. Based on that, both VCEG and MPEG started the exploration work ofnew coding technologies for future video coding standardization. oneJoint Video Exploration Team (JVET) was formed in October 2015 by ITU-TVECG and ISO/IEC MPEG to begin significant study of advancedtechnologies that could enable substantial enhancement of codingefficiency. One reference software called joint exploration model (JEM)was maintained by the JVET by integrating several additional codingtools on top of the HEVC test model (HM).

In October 2017, the joint call for proposals (CfP) on video compressionwith capability beyond HEVC was issued by ITU-T and ISO/IEC. In April2018, 23 CfP responses were received and evaluated at the 10-th JVETmeeting, which demonstrated compression efficiency gain over the HEVCaround 40%. Based on such evaluation results, the JVET launched a newproject to develop the new generation video coding standard that isnamed as Versatile Video Coding (VVC). In the same month, one referencesoftware codebase, called VVC test model (VTM), was established fordemonstrating a reference implementation of the VVC standard.

Like HEVC, the VVC is built upon the block-based hybrid video codingframework. FIG. 1 (described below) gives the block diagram of a genericblock-based hybrid video encoding system. The input video signal isprocessed block by block (called coding units (CUs)). In VTM-1.0, a CUcan be up to 128×128 pixels. However, different from the HEVC whichpartitions blocks only based on quad-trees, in the VVC, one coding treeunit (CTU) is split into CUs to adapt to varying local characteristicsbased on quad/binary/ternary-tree. Additionally, the concept of multiplepartition unit type in the HEVC is removed, i.e., the separation of CU,prediction unit (PU) and transform unit (TU) does not exist in the VVCanymore; instead, each CU is always used as the basic unit for bothprediction and transform without further partitions. In the multi-typetree structure, one CTU is firstly partitioned by a quad-tree structure.Then, each quad-tree leaf node can be further partitioned by a binaryand ternary tree structure. As shown in FIG. 5A, FIG. 5B, FIG. 5C, FIG.5D, and FIG. 5E (described below), there are five splitting types,quaternary partitioning, horizontal binary partitioning, vertical binarypartitioning, horizontal ternary partitioning, and vertical ternarypartitioning, respectively.

In FIG. 1 (described below), spatial prediction and/or temporalprediction may be performed. Spatial prediction (or “intra prediction”)uses pixels from the samples of already coded neighboring blocks (whichare called reference samples) in the same video picture/slice to predictthe current video block. Spatial prediction reduces spatial redundancyinherent in the video signal. Temporal prediction (also referred to as“inter prediction” or “motion compensated prediction”) usesreconstructed pixels from the already coded video pictures to predictthe current video block. Temporal prediction reduces temporal redundancyinherent in the video signal. Temporal prediction signal for a given CUis usually signaled by one or more motion vectors (MVs) which indicatethe amount and the direction of motion between the current CU and itstemporal reference. Also, when multiple reference pictures aresupported, one reference picture index is additionally sent, which isused to identify from which reference picture in the reference picturestore the temporal prediction signal comes. After spatial and/ortemporal prediction, the mode decision block in the encoder chooses thebest prediction mode, for example based on the rate-distortionoptimization method. The prediction block is then subtracted from thecurrent video block; and the prediction residual is de-correlated usingtransform and quantized.

The quantized residual coefficients are inverse quantized and inversetransformed to form the reconstructed residual, which is then added backto the prediction block to form the reconstructed signal of the CU.Further in-loop filtering, such as deblocking filter, sample adaptiveoffset (SAO) and adaptive in-loop filter (ALF) may be applied on thereconstructed CU before it is put in the reference picture store andused to code future video blocks. To form the output video bit-stream,coding mode (inter or intra), prediction mode information, motioninformation, and quantized residual coefficients are all sent to theentropy coding unit to be further compressed and packed to form thebit-stream.

FIG. 2 (described below) gives a general block diagram of a block-basedvideo decoder. The video bit-stream is first entropy decoded at entropydecoding unit. The coding mode and prediction information are sent toeither the spatial prediction unit (when intra coded) or the temporalprediction unit (when inter coded) to form the prediction block. Theresidual transform coefficients are sent to inverse quantization unitand inverse transform unit to reconstruct the residual block. Theprediction block and the residual block are then added together. Thereconstructed block may further go through in-loop filtering before itis stored in reference picture store. The reconstructed video inreference picture store is then sent out to drive a display device, aswell as used to predict future video blocks.

FIG. 1 shows a typical encoder 100. The encoder 100 has video input 110,motion compensation 112, motion estimation 114, intra/inter modedecision 116, block predictor 140, adder 128, transform 130,quantization 132, prediction related info 142, intra prediction 118,picture buffer 120, inverse quantization 134, inverse transform 136,adder 126, memory 124, in-loop filter 122, entropy coding 138, andbitstream 144.

FIG. 2 shows a typical decoder 200 block diagram. Decoder 200 hasbitstream 210, entropy decoding 212, inverse quantization 214, inversetransform 216, adder 218, intra/inter mode selection 220, intraprediction 222, memory 230, in-loop filter 228, motion compensation 224,picture buffer 226, prediction related info 234, and video output 232.

FIG. 3 shows an example method 300 for generating combined inter andintra prediction (CIIP) in accordance to the present disclosure.

In step 310, obtaining a first reference picture and a second referencepicture associated with a current prediction block, wherein the firstreference picture is before a current picture and the second referencepicture is after the current picture in display order.

In step 312, obtaining a first prediction L0 based on a first motionvector MV0 from the current prediction block to a reference block in thefirst reference picture.

In step 314, obtaining a second prediction L1 based on a second motionvector MV1 from the current prediction block to a reference block in thesecond reference picture.

In step 316, determining whether a bidirectional optical flow (BDOF)operation is applied, wherein the BDOF calculates a first horizontal andvertical gradient values for the prediction samples associated with thefirst prediction L0 and second horizontal and vertical gradient valuesassociated with the second prediction L1. For example, the BDOFcalculates a first horizontal and vertical gradient values

$\frac{\partial I^{(0)}}{\partial x}{\left( {i,j} \right)'}s\mspace{14mu}{and}\mspace{14mu}\frac{\partial I^{(0)}}{\partial y}{\left( {i,j} \right)'}s$

for the prediction samples associated with the first prediction L0 andsecond horizontal and vertical gradient values

$\frac{\partial I^{(1)}}{\partial x}{\left( {i,j} \right)'}s\mspace{14mu}{and}\mspace{14mu}\frac{\partial I^{(1)}}{\partial y}{\left( {i,j} \right)'}s$

associated with the second prediction L1.

In step 318, Calculating a bi-prediction of the current prediction blockbased on the first prediction L0 and the second prediction L1, and firstgradient values and second gradient values. For example, first gradientvalues

$\frac{\partial I^{(0)}}{\partial x}{\left( {i,j} \right)'}s\mspace{14mu}{and}\mspace{14mu}\frac{\partial I^{(0)}}{\partial y}{\left( {i,j} \right)'}s$

and second gradient values

$\frac{\partial I^{(1)}}{\partial x}{\left( {i,j} \right)'}s\mspace{14mu}{and}\mspace{14mu}\frac{\partial I^{(1)}}{\partial y}{\left( {i,j} \right)'}{s.}$

FIG. 4 shows an example method for generating CIIP in accordance to thepresent disclosure. For example, the method includes a uni-predictionbased inter prediction and MPM-based intra prediction for generatingCIIP.

In step 410, obtaining a reference picture in a reference picture listassociated with a current prediction block.

In step 412, generating a inter prediction based on a first motionvector from a current picture to a first reference picture.

In step 414, obtaining a intra prediction mode associated with thecurrent prediction block.

In step 416, generating a intra prediction of the current predictionblock based on the intra prediction.

In step 418, generating a final prediction of the current predictionblock by averaging the inter prediction and the intra prediction.

In step 420, determining whether the current prediction block is treatedas inter mode or intra mode for most probable mode (MPM) based intramode prediction.

FIG. 5A shows a diagram illustrating block quaternary partitions in amulti-type tree structure, according to an example of the presentdisclosure.

FIG. 5B shows a diagram illustrating block vertical binary partition ina multi-type tree structure, according to an example of the presentdisclosure.

FIG. 5C shows a diagram illustrating block horizontal binary partitionin a multi-type tree structure, according to an example of the presentdisclosure.

FIG. 5D shows a diagram illustrating block vertical ternary partition ina multi-type tree structure, according to an example of the presentdisclosure.

FIG. 5E shows a diagram illustrating block horizontal ternary partitionin a multi-type tree structure, according to an example of the presentdisclosure.

Combined Inter and Intra Prediction

As shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, inter and intra prediction methods areused in the hybrid video coding scheme, where each PU is only allowed toselect inter prediction or intra prediction for exploiting thecorrelation in either temporal or spatial domain while never in both.However, as pointed out in previous literature, the residual signalgenerated by inter-predicted blocks and intra-predicted blocks couldpresent very different characteristics from each other. Therefore, whenthe two kinds of predictions can be combined in an efficient way, onemore accurate prediction can be expected for reducing the energy ofprediction residuals and therefore improving the coding efficiency.Additionally, in nature video content, the motion of moving objectscould be complicated. For example, there could exist areas which containboth old content (e.g., the objects that are included in previouslycoded pictures) and emerging new content (e.g., the objects that areexcluded in previously coded pictures). In such scenario, neither interprediction nor intra prediction can provide one accurate prediction ofcurrent block.

To further improve the prediction efficiency, combined inter and intraprediction (CIIP), which combines the intra prediction and the interprediction of one CU that is coded by merge mode, is adopted in the VVCstandard. Specifically, for each merge CU, one additional flag issignaled to indicate whether the CIIP is enabled for the current CU. Forluma component, the CIIP supports four frequently-used intra modes,including planar, DC, horizontal and vertical modes. For chromacomponents, DM (i.e., chroma reuses the same intra mode of lumacomponent) is always applied without extra signaling. Additionally, inthe existing CIIP design, weighted average is applied to combine theinter prediction samples and the intra prediction samples of one CIIPCU. Specifically, when planar or DC mode is selected, equal weight(i.e., 0.5) is applied. Otherwise (i.e., either horizontal or verticalmode is applied), the current CU is firstly split horizontally (forhorizontal mode) or vertically (for vertical mode) into four equal-sizeareas.

Four weight sets, denoted as (w_intra_(i), w_inter_(i)), will be appliedto combine the inter and intra prediction samples in different areas,where i=0 and i=3 represent the areas that are closest and furthest tothe reconstructed neighboring samples used for intra prediction. In thecurrent CIIP design, the values of weight sets are set as (w_intra₀,w_inter₀)=(0.75, 0.25), (w_intra₁, w_inter₁)=(0.625, 0.375), (w_intra₂,w_inter₂)=(0.375, 0.625) and (w_intra₃, w_inter₃)=(0.25, 0.75). FIG. 6A,FIG. 6B, and FIG. 6C (described below) provide examples to illustratethe CIIP mode.

Additionally, in the current VVC working specification, the intra modeof one CIIP CU can be used as the predictor to predict the intra mode ofits neighboring CIIP CUs through most probable mode (MPM) mechanism.Specifically, for each CIIP CU, when its neighboring blocks are alsoCIIP CUs, the intra modes of those neighbors are firstly rounded to theclosest mode within planar, DC, horizontal and vertical modes and thenadded into the MPM candidate list of the current CU. However, whenconstructing the MPM list for each intra CU, when one of its neighboringblocks is coded by CIIP mode, it is regarded as unavailable, i.e., theintra mode of one CIIP CU is disallowed to predict the intra modes ofits neighboring intra CUs. FIG. 7A and FIG. 7B (described below) comparethe MPM list generation processes of intra CUs and CIIP CUs.

Bi-Directional Optical Flow

Conventional bi-prediction in video coding is a simple combination oftwo temporal prediction blocks obtained from the reference pictures thatare already reconstructed. However, due to the limitation of theblock-based motion compensation, there could be remaining small motionthat can be observed between the samples of two prediction blocks, thusreducing the efficiency of motion compensated prediction. To solve thisproblem, bi-directional optical flow (BDOF) is applied in the VVC tolower the impacts of such motion for every sample inside one block.Specifically, as shown in FIG. 6A, FIG. 6B, and FIG. 6C (describedbelow), the BDOF is sample-wise motion refinement that is performed ontop of the block-based motion-compensated predictions when bi-predictionis used. The motion refinement (v_(x), v_(y)) of each 4×4 sub-block iscalculated by minimizing the difference between L0 and L1 predictionsamples after the BDOF is applied inside one 6×6 window Ω around thesub-block. Specifically, the value of (v_(x), v_(y)) is derived as

v _(x) =S ₁>0? clip3(−th_(BDOF), th_(BDOF), −((S ₃·2³)»└log₂ S ₁┘)):0

v _(y) =S ₅>0? clip3(−th_(BDOF), th_(BDOF), −((S ₆·2³−((v _(x) S_(2,m))«n _(S) ₂ +v _(x) S _(2,s))/2)»└log₂ S ₅┘)):

where └·┘ is the floor function; clip3(min, max, x) is a function thatclips a given value x inside the range of [min, max]; the symbol »represents bitwise right shift operation; the symbol « representsbitwise left shift operation; th_(BDOF) is the motion refinementthreshold to prevent the propagated errors due to irregular localmotion, which is equal to 2^(13−BD), where BD is the bit-depth of inputvideo. In (1), S_(2,m)=S₂»n_(S) ₂ , S_(2,s)=S₂&(2^(n) ^(s2) −1). Thevalues of S₁, S₂, S₃, S₅ and S₆ are calculated as

S₁ = Σ_((i, j) ∈ Ω)ψ_(x)(i, j) ⋅ ψ_(x)(i, j), S₃ = Σ_((i, j) ∈ Ω)θ(i, j) ⋅ ψ_(x)(i, j)S₂ = Σ_((i, j) ∈ Ω)ψ_(x)(i, j) ⋅ ψ_(y)(i, j)S₅ = Σ_((i, j) ∈ Ω)ψ_(y)(i, j) ⋅ ψ_(y)(i, j)  S₆ = Σ_((i, j) ∈ Ω)θ(i, j) ⋅ ψ_(y)(i, j)where${\psi_{x}\left( {i,j} \right)} = {{\left( {{\frac{\partial I^{(1)}}{\partial x}\left( {i,j} \right)} + {\frac{\partial I^{(0)}}{\partial x}\left( {i,j} \right)}} \right)\mspace{14mu}\text{>>}\mspace{14mu} 3{\psi_{y}\left( {i,j} \right)}} = {{\left( {{\frac{\partial I^{(1)}}{\partial y}\left( {i,j} \right)} + {\frac{\partial I^{(0)}}{\partial y}\left( {i,j} \right)}} \right)\mspace{14mu}\text{>>}\mspace{14mu} 3{\theta\left( {i,j} \right)}} = {\left( {{I^{(1)}\left( {i,j} \right)}\mspace{14mu}\text{>>}\mspace{14mu} 6} \right)\left( {{I^{(0)}\left( {i,j} \right)}\mspace{14mu}\text{>>}\mspace{14mu} 6} \right)}}}$

where I^((k))(i,j) are the sample value at coordinate (i,j) of theprediction signal in list k, k=0,1, which are generated at intermediatehigh precision (i.e., 16-bit);

$\frac{\partial I^{(k)}}{\partial x}\left( {i,j} \right)\mspace{14mu}{and}\mspace{14mu}\frac{\partial I^{(k)}}{\partial y}\left( {i,j} \right)$

are the horizontal and vertical gradients of the sample that areobtained by directly calculating the difference between its twoneighboring samples, i.e.,

${\frac{\partial I^{(k)}}{\partial x}\left( {i,j} \right)} = {\left( {{I^{(k)}\left( {{i + 1},j} \right)} - {I^{(k)}\left( {{i - 1},j} \right)}} \right)\mspace{14mu}\text{>>}\mspace{14mu} 4}$${\frac{\partial I^{(k)}}{\partial y}\left( {i,j} \right)} = {\left( {{I^{(k)}\left( {i,{j + 1}} \right)} - {I^{(k)}\left( {i,{j - 1}} \right)}} \right)\mspace{14mu}\text{>>}\mspace{14mu} 4}$

Based on the motion refinement derived in (1), the final bi-predictionsamples of the CU are calculated by interpolating the L0/L1 predictionsamples along the motion trajectory based on the optical flow model, asindicated by

     pred_(BDOF)(x, y) = (I⁽⁰⁾(x, y) + I⁽¹⁾(x, y) + b + o_(offset))  >>  shift$b = {{{rnd}\left( {\left( {v_{x}\left( {\frac{\partial{I^{(1)}\left( {x,y} \right)}}{\partial x} - \frac{\partial{I^{(0)}\left( {x,y} \right)}}{\partial x}} \right)} \right)\text{/}2} \right)} + {{rnd}\left( {\left( {v_{y}\left( {\frac{\partial{I^{(1)}\left( {x,y} \right)}}{\partial y} - \frac{\partial{I^{(0)}\left( {x,y} \right)}}{\partial y}} \right)} \right)\text{/}2} \right)}}$

where shift and o_(offset) are the right shift value and the offsetvalue that are applied to combine the L0 and L1 prediction signals forbi-prediction, which are equal to 15−BD and 1«(14−BD)+2·(1«13),respectively.

FIG. 6A shows a diagram illustrating a combined inter and intraprediction for horizontal mode, according to an example of the presentdisclosure.

FIG. 6B shows a diagram illustrating a combined inter and intraprediction for vertical mode, according to an example of the presentdisclosure.

FIG. 6C shows a diagram illustrating a combined inter and intraprediction for planar and DC modes, according to an example of thepresent disclosure.

FIG. 7A shows a flowchart of the MPM candidate list generation processesof intra CUS, according to an example of the present disclosure.

FIG. 7B shows a flowchart of the MPM candidate list generation processesof CIIP CUs, according to an example of the present disclosure.

Improvements to CIIP

Although the CIIP can enhance the efficiency of conventional motioncompensated prediction, its design can still be further improved.Specifically, the following issues in the existing CIIP design in theVVC are identified in this disclosure.

First, as discussed in “combined inter and intra prediction” section,because the CIIP combines the samples of inter and intra prediction,each CIIP CU needs to use its reconstructed neighboring samples togenerate the prediction signal. This means that the decoding of one CIIPCU is dependent on the full reconstruction of its neighboring blocks.Due to such interdependency, for practical hardware implementations,CIIP needs to be performed in the reconstruction stage where neighboringreconstructed samples become available for intra prediction. Because thedecoding of the CUs in the reconstruction stage must be performedsequentially (i.e., one by one), the number of computational operations(e.g., multiplications, additions and bit-shifts) involved in the CIIPprocess cannot be too high in order to ensure enough throughput ofreal-time decoding.

As mentioned in the “bi-directional optical flow” section, the BDOF isenabled to enhance the prediction quality when one inter-coded CU ispredicted from two reference blocks from both forward and backwardtemporal directions. As shown in FIG. 8 (described below), in thecurrent VVC, the BDOF is also involved to generate the inter predictionsamples for the CIIP mode. Given the additional complexity introduced bythe BDOF, such design could severely lower the encoding/decodingthroughput of hardware codec when the CIIP is enabled.

Second, in the current CIIP design, when one CIIP CU refers to one mergecandidate that is bi-predicted, both the motion compensated predictionsignals in list L0 and L1 need to be generated. When one or more MVs arenot in integer precision, additional interpolation processes must beinvoked to interpolate the samples at fractional sample positions. Suchprocess not only increase the computational complexity but also increasethe memory bandwidth given that more reference samples need to beaccessed from external memory.

Third, as discussed in “combined inter and intra prediction” section, inthe current CIIP design, the intra modes of CIIP CUs and the intra modesof intra CUs are treated differently when constructing the MPM list oftheir neighboring blocks. Specifically, when one current CU is coded byCIIP mode, its neighboring CIIP CUs are regarded as intra, i.e., theintra modes of the neighboring CIIP CUs can be added into the MPMcandidate list. However, when the current CU is coded by intra mode, itsneighboring CIIP CUs are regarded as inter, i.e., the intra modes of theneighboring CIIP CUs are excluded from the MPM candidate list. Suchnon-unified design may not be optimal for the final version of the VVCstandard.

FIG. 8 shows a diagram illustrating a workflow of the existing CIIPdesign in the VVC, according to an example of the present disclosure.

Simplifying CIIP

In this disclosure, methods are provided to simplify the existing CIIPdesign to facilitate hardware codec implementations. In general, themain aspects of the proposed technologies in this disclosure aresummarized as follows.

First, to improve the CIIP encoding/decoding throughput, it is proposedto exclude the BDOF from the generation of the inter prediction samplesin the CIIP mode.

Second, to reduce the computational complexity and the memory bandwidthconsumption, when one CIIP CU is bi-predicted (i.e., having both L0 andL1 MVs), methods are proposed to convert the block from bi-prediction touni-prediction for generating the inter prediction samples.

Third, two methods are proposed to harmonize the intra modes of CIIP andintra CUs when forming the MPM candidates of their neighboring blocks.

The CIIP without the BDOF

As pointed out in “problem statement” section, the BDOF is alwaysenabled to generate the inter prediction samples for the CIIP mode whenthe current CU is bi-predicted. Due to the additional complexity of theBDOF, the existing CIIP design could significantly lower theencoding/decoding throughput, especially making the real-time decodingbecome difficult for the VVC decoders. On the other hand, for CIIP CUs,their final prediction samples are generated by averaging the interprediction samples and intra prediction samples. In other words, therefined prediction samples by the BDOF will not be directly used as theprediction signal for CIIP CUs. Therefore, compared to the conventionalbi-predicted CUs (where the BDOF is directly applied to generate theprediction samples), the corresponding improvement obtained from theBDOF is less efficient for CIIP CUs. Therefore, based on the aboveconsiderations, it is proposed to disable the BDOF when generating theinter prediction samples of the CIIP mode. FIG. 9 (described below)illustrates the corresponding workflow of the proposed CIIP processafter removing the BDOF.

FIG. 9 shows a diagram illustrating a workflow of the proposed CIIPmethod by removing BDOF, according to an example of the presentdisclosure.

The CIIP Based on Uni-Prediction

As discussed above, when the merge candidate that is referred by oneCIIP CU is bi-predicted, both the L0 and L1 prediction signals aregenerated to predict the samples inside the CU. To reduce the memorybandwidth and the interpolation complexity, in one embodiment of thedisclosure, it is proposed to only use the inter prediction samples thatare generated using uni-prediction (even when the current CU isbi-predicted) to be combined with the intra prediction samples in theCIIP mode. Specifically, when the current CIIP CU is uni-predicted, theinter prediction samples will be directly combined with the intraprediction samples. Otherwise (i.e., the current CU is bi-predicted),the inter prediction samples that are used by the CIIP are generatedbased on the uni-prediction from one prediction list (either L0 or L1).To select the prediction list, different methods may be applied. In thefirst method, it is proposed to always select the first prediction(i.e., list L0) for any CIIP block that is predicted by two referencepictures.

In the second method, it is proposed always select the second prediction(i.e., list L1) for any CIIP block that is predicted by two referencepictures. In the third method, one adaptive method is applied where theprediction list that is associated with one reference picture withsmaller picture order count (POC) distance from the current picture isselected. FIG. 10 (described below) illustrates the workflow of theuni-prediction based CIIP with selecting the prediction list based onPOC distance.

Finally, in the last method, it is proposed to only enable the CIIP modewhen the current CU is uni-predicted. Moreover, to reduce the overhead,the signaling of the CIIP enabling/disabling flag is dependent on theprediction direction of the current CIIP CU. When the current CU isuni-predicted, the CIIP flag will be signaled in bit-stream to indicatewhether the CIIP is enabled or disabled. Otherwise (i.e., the current CUis bi-predicted), the signaling of the CIIP flag will be skipped and isalways inferred as false, i.e., the CIIP is always disabled.

FIG. 10 shows a diagram illustrating a workflow of the uni-predictionbased CIIP with selecting prediction list based on POC distance,according to an example of the present disclosure.

Harmonization of the Intra Modes of CIIP and Intra CUs for MPM CandidateList Construction

As discussed above, the current CIIP design is not unified with regardsto how to use the intra modes of CIIP CUs and intra CUs to form the MPMcandidate list of their neighboring blocks. Specifically, both the intramodes of CIIP CUs and intra CUs can predict the intra modes of theirneighboring blocks that are coded in the CIIP mode. However, only theintra modes of intra CUs can predict the intra modes of intra CUs. Toachieve one more unified design, two methods are proposed in thissection to harmonize the usage of the intra modes of CIIP and intra CUsfor MPM list construction.

In the first method, it is proposed to treat the CIIP mode as inter modefor the MPM list construction. Specifically, when generating the MPMlist of either one CIIP CU or one intra CU, when its neighboring blockis coded in the CIIP mode, then the intra mode of the neighboring blockis marked as unavailable. By such method, no intra modes of CIIP blockscan be used to construct the MPM list. On the contrary, in the secondmethod, it is proposed to treat the CIIP mode as intra mode for the MPMlist construction. Specifically, in this method, the intra modes of CIIPCUs can predict the intra modes of both its neighboring CIIP blocks andintra blocks. FIG. 11A and FIG. 11B (described below) illustrate the MPMcandidate list generation process when the above two methods areapplied.

Other embodiments of the present disclosure will be apparent to thoseskilled in the art from consideration of the specification and practiceof the present disclosure disclosed here. This application is intendedto cover any variations, uses, or adaptations of the present disclosurefollowing the general principles thereof and including such departuresfrom the present disclosure as come within known or customary practicein the art. It is intended that the specification and examples beconsidered as examples only, with a true scope and spirit of the presentdisclosure being indicated by the following claims.

It will be appreciated that the present disclosure is not limited to theexact examples described above and illustrated in the accompanyingdrawings, and that various modifications and changes can be made withoutdeparting from the scope thereof. It is intended that the scope of thepresent disclosure only be limited by the appended claims.

FIG. 11A shows a flowchart of the methods when enabling CIIP blocks forthe MPM candidate list generation, according to an example of thepresent disclosure.

FIG. 11B shows a flowchart of the methods when disabling CIIP blocks forthe MPM candidate list generation, according to an example of thepresent disclosure.

FIG. 12 shows a computing environment 1210 coupled with a user interface1260. Computing environment 1210 can be part of data processing server.Computing environment 1210 includes processor 1220, memory 1240, and I/Ointerface 1250.

The processor 1220 typically controls overall operations of thecomputing environment 1210, such as the operations associated with thedisplay, data acquisition, data communications, and image processing.The processor 1220 may include one or more processors to executeinstructions to perform all or some of the steps in the above-describedmethods. Moreover, the processor 1220 may include one or more circuitsthat facilitate the interaction between the processor 1220 and othercomponents. The processor may be a Central Processing Unit (CPU), amicroprocessor, a single chip machine, a GPU, or the like.

The memory 1240 is configured to store various types of data to supportthe operation of the computing environment 1210. Examples of such datacomprise instructions for any applications or methods operated on thecomputing environment 1210, video data, image data, etc. The memory 1240may be implemented by using any type of volatile or non-volatile memorydevices, or a combination thereof, such as a static random access memory(SRAM), an electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM),an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), a programmableread-only memory (PROM), a read-only memory (ROM), a magnetic memory, aflash memory, a magnetic or optical disk.

The I/O interface 1250 provides an interface between the processor 1220and peripheral interface modules, such as a keyboard, a click wheel,buttons, and the like. The buttons may include but are not limited to, ahome button, a start scan button, and a stop scan button. The I/Ointerface 1250 can be coupled with an encoder and decoder.

In an embodiment, there is also provided a non-transitorycomputer-readable storage medium comprising a plurality of programs,such as comprised in the memory 1240, executable by the processor 1220in the computing environment 1210, for performing the above-describedmethods. For example, the non-transitory computer-readable storagemedium may be a ROM, a RAM, a CD-ROM, a magnetic tape, a floppy disc, anoptical data storage device or the like.

The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium has stored therein aplurality of programs for execution by a computing device having one ormore processors, wherein the plurality of programs, when executed by theone or more processors, cause the computing device to perform theabove-described method for motion prediction.

In an embodiment, the computing environment 1210 may be implemented withone or more application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs), digitalsignal processors (DSPs), digital signal processing devices (DSPDs),programmable logic devices (PLDs), field-programmable gate arrays(FPGAs), graphical processing units (GPUs), controllers,micro-controllers, microprocessors, or other electronic components, forperforming the above methods.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method of video coding, the method comprising:obtaining a reference picture in a reference picture list associatedwith a current coding block; generating an inter prediction based on amotion vector from a current picture to the reference picture; obtainingan intra prediction mode associated with the current coding block;generating an intra prediction of the current coding block based on theintra prediction mode; generating a final prediction of the currentcoding block by weighted averaging the inter prediction and the intraprediction; and determining whether the current coding block is treatedas inter mode or intra mode for most probable mode (MPM) based intramode prediction.
 2. The method of claim 1, wherein the reference picturelist is L0 when the current coding block is predicted from one referencepicture in the reference picture list L0.
 3. The method of claim 1,wherein the reference picture list is L1 when the current coding blockis predicted from one reference picture in the reference picture listL1.
 4. The method of claim 1, wherein the reference picture list is theone which is associated with one reference picture with smaller pictureorder count (POC) distance to the current picture when the currentcoding block is predicted from one first reference picture in thereference picture list L0 and one second reference picture in thereference picture list L1.
 5. The method of claim 1, wherein the currentcoding block is treated as inter mode for MPM based intra modeprediction.
 6. The method of claim 1, wherein the current coding blockis treated as intra mode and the intra prediction mode of the currentcoding block is used for MPM based intra mode prediction.
 7. The methodof claim 1, wherein a bidirectional optical flow (BDOF) operation isdisabled for the current coding block.
 8. A video coding device,comprising one or more processors and one or more storages coupled tothe one or more processors, the video coding device is configured toperform operations including: obtaining a reference picture in areference picture list associated with a current coding block;generating an inter prediction based on a motion vector from a currentpicture to the reference picture; obtaining an intra prediction modeassociated with the current coding block; generating an intra predictionof the current coding block based on the intra prediction mode;generating a final prediction of the current coding block by weightedaveraging the inter prediction and the intra prediction; and determiningwhether the current coding block is treated as inter mode or intra modefor most probable mode (MPM) based intra mode prediction.
 9. The videocoding device of claim 8, wherein the reference picture list is L0 whenthe current coding block is predicted from one reference picture in thereference picture list L0.
 10. The video coding device of claim 8,wherein the reference picture list is L1 when the current coding blockis predicted from one reference picture in the reference picture listL1.
 11. The video coding device of claim 8, wherein the referencepicture list is the one which is associated with one reference picturewith smaller picture order count (POC) distance to the current picturewhen the current coding block is predicted from one first referencepicture in the reference picture list L0 and one second referencepicture in the reference picture list L1.
 12. The video coding device ofclaim 8, wherein the current coding block is treated as inter mode forMPM based intra mode prediction.
 13. The video coding device of claim 8,wherein the current coding block is treated as intra mode and the intraprediction mode of the current coding block is used for MPM based intramode prediction.
 14. The video coding device of claim 8, wherein abidirectional optical flow (BDOF) operation is disabled for the currentcoding block.
 15. A non-transitory computer readable storage mediumstoring a plurality of programs for execution by a computing devicehaving one or more processors, wherein the plurality of programs, whenexecuted by the one or more processors, cause the computing device toperform operations including: obtaining a reference picture in areference picture list associated with a current coding block;generating an inter prediction based on a motion vector from a currentpicture to the reference picture; obtaining an intra prediction modeassociated with the current coding block; generating an intra predictionof the current coding block based on the intra prediction mode;generating a final prediction of the current coding block by weightedaveraging the inter prediction and the intra prediction; and determiningwhether the current coding block is treated as inter mode or intra modefor most probable mode (MPM) based intra mode prediction.
 16. Thenon-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 15, wherein thereference picture list is L0 when the current coding block is predictedfrom one reference picture in the reference picture list L0.
 17. Thenon-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 15, wherein thereference picture list is L1 when the current coding block is predictedfrom one reference picture in the reference picture list L1.
 18. Thenon-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 15, wherein thecurrent coding block is treated as inter mode for MPM based intra modeprediction.
 19. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium ofclaim 15, wherein the current coding block is treated as intra mode andthe intra prediction mode of the current coding block is used for MPMbased intra mode prediction.
 20. The non-transitory computer readablestorage medium of claim 15, wherein a bidirectional optical flow (BDOF)operation is disabled for the current coding block.